Choice has always been at the heart of the Assassin’s Creed series, giving you the freedom to complete your objectives any way you see fit. Now, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will expand upon this approach in an even more dramatic way, allowing you to pick which of the two new assassins, Naoe or Yasuke, that you’d like to utilize for your missions – and it’s a wild swing in either direction.

Shadows drops us into late 16th century Japan at a time of great internal turmoil in the region, which has allowed for corruption to seep into the various provinces. During a recent gameplay presentation ahead of UbiForward, we’re shown that this series of events has peaked Yasuke’s interest in the city of Fukuchiyama where a corrupt warlord has taken root.

As he walks into town, it’s like a giant has appeared. Villagers stand aside, bowing as both a term of respect and expression of awe — they’ve never seen anything quite like him before. It isn’t long until some of the warlord’s minions decide to measure up Yasuke’s abilities, which they quickly discover quickly is a tremendous mistake.

Wielding a massive Kanabo (a club-like weapon), Yasuke’s swings are punishing and skull crushing. Enemy swords are turned aside as these thugs are dispatched quick and bloody. Just to punctuate his skills, Yasuke switches to a Katana and just as efficiently cuts through more enemies until he reaches the base of the temple where his target resides. It’s here we’re shown the choice to either continue as the skilled samurai or switch over to the shinobi, Naoe – with whom stealth is placed at the forefront.

This is where Assassin’s Creed Shadows starts to feel a bit more familiar, as Naoe glides undetected across rooftops, utilizing Eagle Vision to spot enemy locations, silently dispatching foes with a Shuriken, and even piercing through a rice paper wall with a Katana to silence an unsuspecting enemy. She continues to quietly move through the medieval compound until she finds her target. He’s standing at the edge of a shallow pond, which is just deep enough for her to swim below the surface, breathing through a bamboo straw. She then swiftly emerges from the pond and stabs the warlord through the neck – and now it’s time to make an exit.

What was great here was seeing both elements of the familiar, open world approach to finding and eliminating your target, but also leaning in on how a ninja – with all their wonderful toys – can sneak into a compound, eliminate an enemy, and then swiftly escape.

We’re then guided through what an assassination looks like with the samurai Yasuke, who in this instance channels the Juggernaut from the X-men, crashing through doors and structures, slicing down guards, and easily dispatching his target with a swift stab to the gut. That isn’t to suggest that Naoe only must lean on stealth – she’s more than equipped to face guards head-on with her mix of agility and area of effect weapons like the Kusarigama (a chain-sickle) that keeps enemies at a distance, allowing her to methodically eliminate each enemy one at a time.

Beyond the combat, one element that I’m really interested to see how Assassin’s Creed Shadows handles will be the fact that we get to play as a historical figure for the first time as the Samurai, Yasuke. The fictional world of Assassin’s Creed has always been a stellar tale, from elaborate yarns that span everything from Templars to aliens, so seeing how they place him within this universe is going to be exciting to experience.

Finally getting to see Assassin’s Creed Shadows in action has only elevated my excitement for this entry in the series. From the dramatic choices in approach to targets, to its amazing feudal Japan setting, and stepping into the shoes of a historical figure, it has all the hallmarks to be another epic in the making for the team at Ubisoft.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set for release for Xbox Series X|S on November 15, 2024, and is available for pre-order now on the Xbox Store.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Ultimate Edition

Ubisoft

☆☆☆☆☆
29

★★★★★

$129.99

Pre-order

Pre-order now to get a bonus quest, Thrown to the Dogs.

The Assassin’s Creed Shadows Ultimate Edition includes:
– The base game.
– Up to three days of early access to the game.*
– The season pass including a bonus quest at launch and two upcoming expansions.
– The Ultimate Pack containing the Sekiryu Character Pack, Hideout Pack, and five skill points, as well as the Red Dragon filter in Photo mode.

Experience an epic historical action-adventure story set in feudal Japan! Become a lethal shinobi Assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open world in a time of chaos. Switch seamlessly between two unlikely allies as you discover their common destiny.

– Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
– Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles. As Naoe, use stealth to avoid detection and agility to confound your enemies. As Yasuke, strike your foes with lethal precision and power. Unlock new skills, gear, and progression independently for each character.
– Make information your weapon as you explore the world, and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions.
– Create a fully customizable hideout for your shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s layout, decorations, and accessories.

*Play the game up to three days before the official launch date. Exact dates and timings will be shared at a later date on assassinscreed.com.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Gold Edition

Ubisoft

☆☆☆☆☆
29

★★★★★

$109.99

Pre-order

Pre-order now to get a bonus quest, Thrown to the Dogs.

The Assassin’s Creed Shadows Gold Edition includes:
– The base game.
– Up to three days of early access to the game.*
– The season pass including a bonus quest at launch and two upcoming expansions.

Experience an epic historical action-adventure story set in feudal Japan! Become a lethal shinobi Assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open world in a time of chaos. Switch seamlessly between two unlikely allies as you discover their common destiny. Master complementary playstyles, create your shinobi league, customize your hideout, and usher in a new era for Japan.

– Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
– Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles. As Naoe, use stealth to avoid detection and agility to confound your enemies. As Yasuke, strike your foes with lethal precision and power. Unlock new skills, gear, and progression independently for each character.
– Make information your weapon as you explore the world, and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions.
– Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s layout, decorations, and accessories.

*Play the game up to three days before the official launch date. Exact dates and timings will be shared at a later date on assassinscreed.com.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

UBISOFT

☆☆☆☆☆
29

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order

Pre-order now to get a bonus quest, Thrown to the Dogs.

Experience an epic historical action-adventure story set in feudal Japan! Become a lethal shinobi Assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open world in a time of chaos. Switch seamlessly between two unlikely allies as you discover their common destiny. Master complementary playstyles, create your shinobi league, customize your hideout, and usher in a new era for Japan.

– Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
– Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles. As Naoe, use stealth to avoid detection and agility to confound your enemies. As Yasuke, strike your foes with lethal precision and power. Unlock new skills, gear, and progression independently for each character.
– Make information your weapon as you explore the world, and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions.
– Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s layout, decorations, and accessories.

Last weekend, Age of Mythology: Retold made an appearance at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024, revealing in-game footage for the very first time, as well as a launch date of September 4, 2024. As part of the Official Xbox Podcast’s deep-dive series, hosts Malik Prince and Jenn Panattoni sat down with Emma Bridle and Earnest Yuen from World’s Edge to share some insight into this exciting, modern reimaging of the 2002 strategy classic. 

Watch the full podcast below – the Age of Mythology: Retold section begins at 25:40:

For those unfamiliar, Age of Mythology: Retold is a faithful retelling of the original title, a real-time strategy game where humans live and fight alongside monsters and gods. “It’s a fantastical, magical, chaotic world that you get to control,” says Bridle. 

During the trailer, we got a first look at one of the campaign missions, set in the Egyptian Pantheon (the name for the playable factions). Playing as Amanra, your primary goal is to destroy the Migdol Stronghold, and to do that, you’ll need to amass an army. Here, we see Amanra collecting units from temples scattered around the surroundings, but they’re not your typical sword and bow wielding soldiers. We see units of monsters that are directly inspired by Egyptian mythology – Petsuchos (or ‘laser crocs as Bridle jovially refers to them), large, bejeweled crocodiles that fire devastating long-range beams of sunlight at their enemies, as well as what Yuen calls “Kaiju Scarabs,” dealing close-range damage to structures.  

Theoretically, you’d expect a humongous crocodile with a radiant sniper to outwit any little human charging at it with a sword, but Age of Mythology is finely balanced to ensure humans, monsters and gods all share an equal shot at victory. According to Yuen, there’s a triangle of ability – the mythological units are often very good against human units, but then you have the Hero units, which are especially good against mythological enemies. 

“As a player, it really makes you think about where to place your units as you move through the levels,” Yuen adds. 

The backdrop of this action is also draped in gorgeous environmental design that matches the setting. Bridle explains that each Pantheon (the name given to playable factions) has its own distinct biome and architecture – golden sands and light, angular buildings grace the Egyptian campaign, while a blanket of snow settles on the mountains and thatched huts of the Norse setting. This is a game that weaves in elements of magic, but everything looks and feels authentic to the period your Pantheon is playing in.

Bridle adds that all of the original game’s art has been completely remade, in line with creating this modern, fantastic looking recreation of the original title. During the podcast, this was showcased with images and animations comparing 2002’s Age of Mythology to the upcoming Retold. A screenshot from one of the campaign missions comes to life in incredible detail, and Bridle adds that “the whole world has been redone.” This included seeing original models for two Heroes, Arkantos and Athena, both now super-refined and realistic, and the Atlantean Titan, now with blazing lava veins woven between scorching rock – quite literally a “glow-up” for the creature, Bridle adds. 

“When we compare these units, they’re showing more definition, you can see the particle effects, they’re really coming to life more,” Bridle says.  

One core goal for Age of Mythology: Retold is that it’s going beyond the already impressive blueprint set by the recent ‘Definitive Edition’ Age of Empires titles. “The goal for the Definitive Editions is to build the awesome game that people remember in your head, but not necessarily how it really was,” Yuen explains.  

“With Age of Mythology: Retold, we’re going beyond that to add new features and mechanics to the game. It’s not just about preservation, we also now have the technology to do this concept the justice it deserves.” 

Yuen details one new feature coming to the game, which is that God Powers are now rechargeable, meaning that they can be used multiple times during a game. In the original Age of Mythology, most of the God Powers could only be used once, but Yuen shares insight on why that might not have been the optimal approach for Retold. 

“Because you could only use that God Power once, people would try to save it for the right moment, but what actually ends up happening is that the match would end before they get to use it,” Yuen explains. “God Powers are the coolest thing you can do in the game, so we’re making it so they can be used multiple times, and you can think about how to do it strategically.” 

Even better, Age of Mythology: Retold includes an additional age at the end of the game – the Wonder age. Here, God Powers are cheaper to use, so the option to use them even more is available during this in-game period. “It’s just chaos,” Bridle adds. “You can just unleash everything you’ve got, and it’s so much fun.” 

The pair delved into loads more topics in the podcast, including where to get started in Retold as a brand-new player, and how Age of Mythology and Age of Empires’ long-running fanbases have been instrumental to the development of new entries. Be sure to check it out! 

Age of Mythology: Retold launches on September 4, and is available day one across PC, Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass.